Cash and Vouchers Videos

Inside Syria, WFP has received only a fraction of its funding requirements so far in 2015. This has resulted in a significant decrease of the food ration to only 74% of its intended size, meaning that families have to eat smaller meals, less frequently. Critical funding shortages have forced WFP to halve the level of assistance provided to almost 1.3 million vulnerable Syrian refugees in the region. With the value of food vouchers reduced, most refugees are now living on around 50 cents a day. WFP immediately needs US$278 million to continue providing a lifeline to Syrians affected by the conflict until the end of the year. Sustainable and predictable funding is needed to ensure that WFP assistance continues. Despite positive indications from some donors, WFP’s funding level remains far from adequate. The suffering of the millions affected by the Syria crisis will only be alleviated when a viable political solution to the conflict is reached, allowing families to return safely to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

BEIRUT – The Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme Ertharin Cousin concluded a visit to Jordan and Lebanon on Thursday by calling upon the international community to continue support Syrian refugees displaced in neighbouring countries and appealing to the world not to forget this crisis.

Major funding shortfalls forced the agency to cut food assistance by up to fifty percent. During her four-day visit, Cousin met with Syrian refugees and government officials, bringing attention to the plight of millions facing extreme hardship as a result of these cuts.

Since the beginning of the year, WFP has faced critical funding shortages that forced it to reduce the level of the assistance it provides to some 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

AMMAN – The United Nations World Food Programme is being forced to implement deeper cuts in food assistance for vulnerable Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan because of a severe lack of funding. In July, WFP will halve the value of food vouchers, or “e-cards,” in Lebanon, providing only US$13.50 per person per month. In Jordan, WFP fears that if it does not receive immediate funding by August, it will have to suspend all assistance to Syrian refugees living outside camps, leaving some 440,000 people with no food. WFP is funded entirely by contributions from governments, companies and private individuals. But its regional refugee operation is currently 81 percent underfunded and immediately requires US$139 million to continue helping desperate refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and Iraq through September.

Two months after the earthquake, the United Nations World Food Programme warned that it is running out of funds to provide essential logistics services to the humanitarian community and to implement early recovery activities and nutritional support for women and children. WFP currently has a funding shortfall of US$74 million for its earthquake response operations in Nepal until the end of the year. WFP’s focus is now shifting to Nepal’s early recovery. Providing cash to families for clearing debris means they can buy food and markets are revitalized. Employing porters to deliver relief items and fix trails supports livelihoods and opens tourism routes. With the World Health Organization, we’re building 50 temporary health clinics to kick-start access to health services.

KIEV – The United Nations World Food Programme is scaling up its emergency operation in eastern Ukraine to feed close to 190,000 vulnerable people displaced by the conflict and civilians trapped near the frontlines. WFP has also stocked food supplies near the conflict areas in anticipation of further waves of displacement and for distribution to people who are besieged by the violence.